A.R.'s Blog

'All This Was Meant To Be' and 'Once In Every Generation' from Forever Rose by Hilary McKay

Novel Excerpt (2007)

Rose Casson provides a last-minute Baby Jesus for the school nativity, and causes quite a shock to one member of her family.

I have returned to Hilary McKay, this time with a more sentimental and Christmassy offering than The Exiles at Home. Pretty much the whole story is about Christmas, so I could have chosen just about any excerpt, but of course I picked my favourite bit. Like many of the other pieces in this collection, it is sweet and fun, but with a modern style and McKay's own unique touch. It shows some of an eventful Christmas countdown for the Casson family just before, in the real world, the date finally clicks over into the 20s.